Traditional engineering and science teaching methodology has been to train like-minded students within the discipline of their respective majors. Curriculum time constraints, however, limit the number and nature of out of discipline elective courses. As a result, students are well trained within their respective fields of study but lack the breadth of experience in interacting with other diverse disciplines. Industry, particularly technology-based companies, has observed that solutions to problems have a greater probability of success when all interested parties (purchasing, innovation, marketing, sales, manufacturing, etc.) have input in developing a plan to achieve a desired corporate outcome. It is through this collective action of diverse disciplines that unique solutions are conceived. Many times breakthroughs in innovation and product development occur not through the actions of companies in direct competition but through new entrant companies by modifying technology currently residing in different markets and applications. The breakthrough occurs because the new entrants are not bound by the technology paradigms constraining innovation in their particular market arena. Our goal is to take the diversity lessons gleaned from industry and incorporate them into coursework that creates diverse cross-functional teams such that students learn the benefits of cross-discipline diversity. The College of Business and Technology at ETSU is itself a diverse blend of disciplines (Engineering Technology, Entrepreneurship, Human Nutrition, Marketing, Digital Media, etc) and several graduate and undergraduate courses residing in different departments within the college have intentional programs that encourage cross-discipline enrollment. This action is further facilitated through dual course listings between departments for the same course. Examples of diverse discipline teams will be discussed with attention to outcomes and challenges. Through this diverse cooperative program, students from the technology, business, applied human sciences and digital media disciplines gain a perspective for each other’s expertise and learn to develop teams with diverse skills to meet the increasing challenges for managing business and technology.

Technology translation can be achieved through the blending of the sciences and arts in the form of digital imagery. Digital animation and video can be utilized to portray molecular events where the mechanism of action is known but the process occurs at a sub-microscopic level. There needs to be a strong collaboration between scientific advisors and digital artists when creating the animation such that the artistic interpretation of the molecular event conforms to the known and accepted confines of science. The finished animation may be used for information, education or persuasion as entrepreneurial biotechnical companies attempt to find markets, customers and investors interested in their inventions. Educational institutions with programs in the sciences, arts, digital media and medicine need to promote the interaction of students from these disciplines through cross-functional teams and courses. Solutions to problems developed by these teams tend to be broader and more comprehensive than more homogeneous teams.

Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial populations, accounting for 8 million of the 28 million small businesses in the United States. Small businesses fail at a rate of 55% by the 5th year of operation and women, who own over 30% of all small businesses, contribute significantly to the 55% small business failure rate. Using Schumpeter's framework, this single exploratory case study investigated how women entrepreneurial small business owners use strategies to sustain their business operation beyond 5 years. A purposeful sample identified 2 women salon small business owners located in the Macon, Georgia metro area. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of company documents. Three emergent themes were identified using Yin's 5 step analytic strategy approach: motivation for business start-ups, which included the motivation, skills, and education needed for business sustainability; success factors, which included innovation and the overall business environment, and employee and customer satisfaction which included customer and human relations. The impact of these practices can enhance social change by contributing to the sustainability and profitability of the organization which can enhance the economic security of the family, community, and the nation. New knowledge from this study could impact entrepreneurship success strategies and increase the number of women-owned businesses beyond the first 5 years of operation.

Employee absenteeism is a significant threat to organizational profitability. Finding solutions to mitigate the adverse effects of employee absenteeism on organizational profitability is critical to the success of organizations. The purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies human resource leaders used to mitigate the adverse effects of employee absenteeism on organizational profitability. The conceptual framework was performance prism theory. Data were gathered from in-depth interviews and publicly available organizational documents, including wellbeing program resources and annual investment presentations and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting documents. Participants included 4 human resource managers and a third party service provider of an Atlanta, Georgia airline industry organization. The organization used in this case study was one of only twenty US companies, as of 2012, that implemented an absenteeism mitigation program at least 3 years prior to this study. The multi-year internal data collected, via interviews, from the human resource management of this 80,000 employee international company specifically about absenteeism mitigation programs, provided a perspective not available from all firms. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to generate emerging themes. Key themes included an emphasis on organizational culture, the wellbeing program, and the cost of absenteeism. Subthemes included executive leadership support, stakeholder identification, and middle management program champions. Findings may help leaders improve organizational productivity and profitability and provide more stability for employees, which may result in thriving communities and other positive social change.

Sustainable farms are critical to United States’ food independence and they positively contribute to the global economy. Farms in the United States are not sustainable without profitable supplemental income. The purpose of this case study was to explore the historic profitability of farm income supplementation methods. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory served as the conceptual framework. A purposive sample of 25 farmers from 5 regions of the continental United States completed semistructured interviews and described their personal experiences. Archival supplemental income data came from the United States Department of Agriculture census. All the data were analyzed using coded keywords, phrases, and concepts to identify the following profitable supplemental income themes: (a) government subsidies, (b) custom work, (c) sales of other products, (d) patronage dividends, (e) insurance payments, (f) cash rent, and (g) agtourism. The implications for positive social change include new insights that farmers may use to improve farm business practice, increase farm sustainability, and improve quality of life for farm families.

In the United States, although foreign-born individuals are more than twice as likely to start new ventures, immigrant-owned businesses often fail within the first 5 years. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that U.S.-based Togolese small business owners who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo. The Schumpeterian entrepreneurship theory underpinned the study and served as a theoretical reference. Interview data were collected from 20 successful Togolese small business owners who resided in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo, and who had been in business for more than 5 years. Data analysis involved using coding techniques and word clustering, with the invocation of qualitative data analytical software. The use of methodological triangulation enabled deeper analysis and added to the rigor of the study. The 4 key themes emerging from the coding and thematic analysis of interviews included (a) entrepreneurial motivation and attributes, (b) overcoming financial hardship, (c) leveraging information technologies, and (d) addressing challenges in the dual business environment. The findings of the study may advance contribution to positive social change as immigrant business owners may use the knowledge to improve business success, which could lead to the creation of jobs and improvement in the standard of living of U.S.-based Togolese entrepreneurs. The discoveries from the research may also contribute to positive social change for local communities in Togo, as the diaspora flow of investments and remittances from the United States may increase.

Abstract Retail business leaders can improve profitability when they implement employee engagement strategies. The purpose of this single case study was to explore employee engagement strategies retail leaders use to improve profitability. The population included 6 department leaders in a single retail organization in the southeastern United States. The conceptual framework included Kahn's employee engagement theory. Using Yin's 5-step data analysis process, data from semistructured interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to gain employee engagement strategies that retail leaders use to improve profitability. Four major themes emerged that retail business leaders use to increase profitability: having daily staff interaction, hiring the right people for the job, creating a positive work environment, and having regular one-on-one interaction with every staff member. The implications for positive social change include a more engaged workforce, which could encourage business owners to reinvest profits and offer sustained employment to a workforce, which may contribute to the economic well-being of communities.

This paper quantifies the direct relationship between GDP per Capita and Connectivity variables such as mobile phone per 100 inhabitants, broadband per 100 inhabitants, and individual internet use percentage across Resource, Innovation, and Efficiency Driven countries. In order to complete this analysis, the study utilizes a fixed effect model, inspired by a previous indirect study by Shamim, published in 2007. The regression outputs find a statistically significant, positive relationship between all three connectivity variables and GDP per Capita in all types of countries. These results could have important policy implications regarding governmental infrastructure investment and future economic development.

The traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using Woolcock and Narayan's conceptualization of social capital, the purpose of this case study of 4 community colleges in a midwest state was to identify specific entrepreneurship strategies rural community colleges use relative to economic development. The data were collected via email and telephone interviews with 11 employees connected to leadership and/or economic development from the 4 community colleges. Interview data were transcribed, inductively coded, and subjected to thematic analysis according to job duties of the respondents. Findings from this study indicate that key factors in improving entrepreneurial capacity include a need to strengthen leadership development, and enhance regional social capital through synergy networks linked to economic development efforts involving the rural college. These findings are similar to the Rural Community College Initiative that was funded by the Ford Foundation. The implications for social change stemming from this study include advocating entrepreneurship through social capital and shared vision via rural community colleges to stabilize and strengthen those regions, with the potential creating more vibrant economies for rural communities.

Successful small businesses are critical to the success of the global economy, but they continue to fail at high rates. Mentoring is a technique proven to improve the performance of new entrepreneurs and their businesses. Building on the conceptual framework of adult learning theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how millennial generation small business owners participating in the Futurpreneur mentoring program used mentors to improve the performance of their small businesses. Data included semistructured interviews with 6 successful participants of the mentoring program, experience profiles of these participants, and public information about Futurpreneur. The intent was to examine the phenomenon from a Canadian perspective, drawing from unique perspectives of program participants previously identified as success stories. Manual coding, cross case comparison, and thematic analysis revealed a variety of salient themes. Themes supported the tenets of adult learning theory and existing literature on mentoring. The primary themes that emerged were (a) Futurepreneur mentors played common roles in successful mentoring relationships and (b) there are common conditions for building healthy mentoring relationships within the Futurepreneur program. Implications for positive social change include improving how entrepreneurs select and learn from mentors, how mentors approach mentoring relationships, and how mentoring organizations design mentoring programs for millennial generation entrepreneurs.